Monday evening 20th July, Burntwood takes the floor at the Lichfield District Council offices. We are turning up in force to show the planning committee, and the wider region, that our town refuses to be a soft target for volume house-builders.

With local and regional media expected to cover the turnout, reporters will be looking to interview residents in the car park before the meeting starts.

The secret to a great media interview is keeping your message incredibly simple, factual, and punchy. You do not need to be a professional planning lawyer to give a devastating interview.

Here is our official Media Cheat Sheet. If you are approached by a journalist, use these direct, policy-based one-liners to shut down the developer’s talking points.

Remember we are NOT against building houses but they need to be plan led and not speculative.

⚠️ The Infrastructure One-Liner

“The developer’s traffic assessments were done at lunchtime on a quiet Tuesday. We live in reality, where Staffordshire Police logs formally state that our surrounding roads are already unsafe and failing during the school run.”

🦅 The Ecology One-Liner

“The council’s own legal department explicitly ruled that this land is too ecologically sensitive for a managed community nature reserve. It is complete hypocrisy to turn around tomorrow and say it’s perfectly fine to bury those exact same nesting grounds under 250 houses.”

🛑 The Floodgates One-Liner

“This isn’t an isolated development; it is a coordinated corporate onslaught. There are 1,380 speculative homes targeting Burntwood’s green spaces right now. If the council approves Bloor tomorrow night, they lose the legal power to stop the rest.”

📐 The Local Policy One-Liner

“The council just adopted a brand-new Lichfield Design Code specifically to protect our town boundaries and restrict urban-style estates. If they vote to approve this development, they are declaring their own flagship policy worthless.”

🏛️ The Heritage One-Liner

“The council’s own reports admit this build will cause permanent, unmitigated harm to our local Grade II listed historic assets. A temporary housing shortfall does not give a developer the legal right to permanently erase 1765 heritage.”

Why This Matters

When developers think a community is just angry, they ignore them. But when they see a community that knows the exact paragraphs of the National Planning Policy Framework, knows the police log numbers, and knows the council’s own internal legal contradictions, they panic.

Let’s make sure every single interview tomorrow night sends a clear message: Burntwood knows the facts, we know the law, and we are not rolling over.

Reminder: Gather outside the Lichfield District Council Offices (Frog Lane, WS13 6YY) tomorrow from 5:15 PM. Let’s make some noise.